William Boscawen

With what you have learnt over the last 6-7 years, would you tell future vineyard owners they were mad or would you encourage them? There’s no short answer to that. I have loved every second of it, but it’s healthy to question whether or not it’s the right thing to do. I was very lucky that I inherited a derelict barn with a few acres of land. I think a lot of people think there’s a nice lifestyle to be had but it comes down to scale, whether you’re at 10 or 50 acres, it’s still a major investment. I stumbled across an article online which estimated the cost of planting a vineyard at £10-20k per acre. Is that realistic? Yeah, but that’s just the planting – trellising, field prep, drainage, sub-soiling, nutrients, vines, etc. That’s not machinery, staff, chemicals, insurance, tax, time, all of that. Planting is the easy bit. You may have 3 acres of south facing land that’s perfect for wine making but there is still the same start-up investment as there would be for 50 acres – you’ll still need a £25k tractor, £10-15k sprayer, undervine sprayer and cultivator plus row trimmers and de-leafers. It’s still going to be £130k of equipment for 3 acres.

What did you learn before you started? I knew that you needed the warmest climate, the greatest exposure to sunlight, south facing with drainage and altitude, etc. That was the minimum. Then you could split wine making into 3 parts – growing, making and selling. I didn’t feel comfortable just doing 2 out of the 3. If I just grew, I would be selling grapes to my competitors. The idea of just growing a crop seemed hairy, it’s a heck of an installation cost. When was the first modern UK vineyard? I think quite a few could lay claim to that but I don’t know if that’s necessarily a good selling accolade. What might have been pioneering then wouldn’t compare well to how we manage vineyards today. People said that we could never grow what we do now, before the impact of climate change, but I think it’s difficult to decipher whether it is improvements in vine management and wine making or temperature change and seasonality predictability – they all lend a part to the process. I was delighted to see Woodchester, in the Cotswolds, has just won best Pinot Gris, so you’re beating the Italian Pinot Grigios – it’s an exciting thing. Back to the original question, I didn’t see the joy of creating a crop to give to a large national winery who would be able to dictate prices and eventually contract terms. I wanted to grow and make, but even then there’s this massive problem of who’s going to buy it? The English wine industry is enjoying a bit of a moment so I had assumed selling would be relatively easy. Nobody wakes up saying, you know what, I really need to buy a £50 bottle of wine. Customers like that are precious, few and far between. And why should I pay £50 compared to cheaper supermarket prices? I think it’s that joy of coming to the place where it’s made, it comes from the tank behind the bar, a mile from where it was grown. From my perspective, going to a place where the production process is completely controlled will make you, not only a customer, but a fan. I really want that. It’s more than just taking a product off a shelf. That’s part of the reason for the pictures in here – visitors can see who the people behind the product are. I want people to walk in and see the blood, sweat and tears of the people behind it, the panic of it being frost watch or something like that.

How hands on are you? God, if you could have seen me on Friday when I was building the tables for outside, covered in wood oil, thinking to myself, I am now a carpenter as well! I have been here since the first vine went in, I’ve learnt viticulture from the ground up. When I started it was like, we’re going to be fine but then something like a disease may creep in and you get in a muck sweat, calling people in a panic to ask what it is, learning how to deal with it, then you realise you don’t have the right accreditation for spraying and you have to go somewhere else – it goes on and on.

I have done everything from growing that vine out of the ground – spray courses, crash courses in viticulture, tractor driving, tractor maintenance, buying equipment. You are learning so much but often by mistake. The first tractor I bought barely fit between the vines, it was too big so I had to get rid of that one. Then, because you’ve got the wrong type of tractor cabin which isn’t sealed or with any air conditioning, you have to use a ventilator and spray suit, so you’re sweating like you’re in a sauna cranked up to 500 degrees! But now I know which tractor is right for the job, which sprayer to use and how to regulate it. I was much more hands on, but as we’ve got better the winemaker has been able to take over. At the same time, we were building a primitive winery. I remember phoning somebody and saying we need a capacity of about 20k bottles. They said the equipment would cost £400k. I thought you’ve got to be joking, if I sell each bottle for £50, it will take 35 years to pay that back! Wine making here is in its early stages so the equipment isn’t available, you can only buy new whereas you really want second hand. That’s fine if you live in Dordogne or Provence, but not here. I managed to find somebody who was going out of business and bought from them. I’ve learned all of this along the way so I’m damned if I’m bailing out of it now. Get in and start swimming.

You don’t get bored of this game. The wine is knockout. It’s a big dollop of impostor syndrome every time I crack open a bottle so I’m never going to get bored of it. I want to continue that journey so that people look at this site and can tell it’s going to be a centre of excellence.

How far do you think you are on that journey? Halfway, but I wouldn’t have got into it if I didn’t know it would take 15 to 20 years. I’m not going to retire anytime soon, I doubt I ever will but I’m enjoying the journey. I’ve got another 2 or 3 years of altering the making part of the process so I have complete control from start to finish. We’re picking off bits that we can get done when money allows but other things have to wait. I spend my time thinking, how can the retail and hospitality sides grow without compromising the production, whilst still doing the educational bit that we want to do. So, you have a vision of the end game, but it’s about getting the timing right? Very much so – I don’t have the money but I think that sharpens your decisions. If I had the millions needed to get it done now, I’d cock it up because what seems like a good idea when you start sure isn’t the same 7 years down the line. I now get to slowly work with potential customers or clients and enjoy being able to rehearse ideas with them. We can simplify ideas down to where we want them to be – both the business and also the real estate side of things, the bricks and mortar of the buildings because wine takes up a lot of space, as does entertaining people. People want to come to our bar but they also want to see the vineyard. People seem to enjoy visiting vineyards. Yeah, you don’t get the same with strawberry fields. I live at the vineyard and enjoy it being slightly separate but ultimately, the winery isn’t there because the geography wouldn’t work. I also like the fact that I’m occupying a barn with deep connections to alcohol production.

Will wine tourism be important to you in the future – accommodation, for example? I did something before this, but the money I earned from that has gone in the blink of an eye doing up this place, so you realise that when it comes to buildings, money goes pretty quick. I’m enjoying people seeing it unfinished so when they come back they see how busy we’ve been. I’m afraid of people not understanding why it can’t be perfect from the start but I’d prefer it this way, it isn’t perfect but we’re trying to get there. That’s different from other vineyards. You get the sense that you’re hands on, you’re a real farmer who’s growing a crop and working hard to produce something of quality…and you’re enjoying it. That’s the sense I get when I walk in. Well, I think that’s incredibly flattering.

Can you paint a picture of you as a young lad. I’m glad you’re suggesting I’m no longer a young lad because I sure as hell don’t feel it anymore. Where were you brought up? On a farm in Cornwall. That’s where the family is from and somewhere that’s deep in my heart. I respond well to being in fields. You like your own company? I’m very comfortable with it. So, you enjoy working at the vineyard? Oh, heaven. Yeah. Getting in a tractor for 6 to 8 hours, not being bothered by phone calls, it’s dreamy. You just get lost in your own thoughts. Does that stem from your childhood? Yeah, when I grew up, a highlight was being able to row across the river to Malpas to buy chewing gum from the post office. It’s a hell of a stretch of water and I was only 7 or 8. Now I’ve got an 8 year old, I’m wondering what my parents were thinking!? I had air rifles, rope swings in the wood and camps. I cycled to my friend’s farm, which was a good 9 miles away along country lanes, no helmet or anything like that. Absolutely mad. The kind of childhood most people want. It was pretty special. I had a great time and I’ll think that forever.

Were you academically minded at school? Yes, I was very studious. I went to boarding school, so was miles up country from aged 7. I also spent 5 years living here in Kent. I actually hated that time because my parents relationship was starting to go wrong and I didn’t have any good pals here. It was sad but swift and they both moved on quickly. They were very responsible about it – I didn’t see too much of the process. So, I didn’t really like Kent but then, when I was living in Hong Kong, I was told about this derelict property that I suddenly owned and thought I better have a look at it. I’m married to an Italian, so I was like, sweetheart, how about we move to Kent? (Will does a bad impression of his wife‘s response, ranting in Italian.)

Can you speak Italian? No. I did a little but then I got caught having a very intense conversation with my mother-in-law and thought, shit, I might have to do this permanently, better stop the lessons. (I love my mother in law very much!!) We moved here and I’m so glad I had that second chance because I think Kent is absolutely brilliant. I have found something I fundamentally love doing. I’m in agriculture, at the start of a new industry of English wine. I’m visually compelled by things so like to see them come alive but most importantly, I think creativity can only exist when you’re given strict parameters.

Do you think that is why you studied history of art and architecture, as opposed to say fine art? I think somebody said to me if you want to make money in art, don’t be an artist, either sell famous artist’s works or restore famous artist’s works. But you eventually settled into corporate finance…None of my family have been financiers, but business is something etched into our consciousness that we want to see continue and agriculture is in our hearts. History of art was because I was deeply interested in it and felt it could offer a good career. When you’re in your 20s, the world’s a big place and you want to see and do as many things as possible and perhaps you aren’t quite sure what the right route is. As you get older, responsibilities and future obligations start to determine those decisions. I tried a number of things but didn’t know what I wanted to do. Perhaps that was immature, but I didn’t know what the future was going to be. To start a rural enterprise like this, you’ve got to be prepared to do the viticulture, tractor driving, harvesting, wine making, plumbing, electrics, decorating, hospitality…so, looking back, I’m glad I gave myself the chance to try different things because it gave me a level of confidence that I have needed.

Confidence is an important word. When you speak to children who’ve attended boarding or private schools, they often convey confidence. Starting something like this needs that level of confidence as well as a bit of…Stubbornness? Boarding schools are not for everybody though – I don’t think confidence is necessarily the result of being sent away to a school without your parents for 3 out of 4 weeks. Are your children at boarding school? If only! I’ve got a very soppy minded Italian wife. But you would have considered it? Things change. We didn’t have telephones then. We could only write letters once a week. Pretty weird when you think about it, but I had a great time. They push you bloody hard but I enjoyed it. Coming back to the entrepreneurial aspect, it can give you confidence but I don’t think that’s the nub of it because schools like that can be quite formulaic. You won’t meet a huge number of entrepreneurs who’ve been to Eton. You’ll find a lot of people in finance, law and politics, but that doesn’t necessarily develop an entrepreneurial mindset. So, where does your confidence come from? That’s a hard question to answer because on some days I would say there is none. So, is it more of the stubbornness than confidence? I think there is a deep fear of failure. That’s what keeps me awake at night. I’m shit scared. I don’t know how I sleep sometimes and then my wife asks why we’re not driving around in a Range Rover? I say, ‘sweetheart, that’s because I can’t afford that right now’ and that will be the case for years to come, but once you get comfortable with that you realise it isn’t important. What is important and what I get my biggest kick from, is having people I love working with – they’re bright minds and brilliant people. I get kicks from clever people with ambition coming to work here – hopefully we can stay on this journey together. Marital pressures aside – I have to tell my wife that the idea of a holiday is just not happening – I need to put a new floor in the winery…again. That’s a farmer’s life though, isn’t it? I refer to this place as having agricultural chic. Sometimes it’s more endearing for it to not look perfect. I’ll let the lawyers and financiers drive around the countryside in their Range Rovers. Maybe I’d like a new car one day.

Are you the only one of your Uni mates who pursued agriculture? Well, I didn’t buy this. I was given it by my grandfather without any understanding. Your grandfather was the Viscount of Falmouth? He was and that’s where the agriculture comes from, the family estate, Tregothnan. This farm became part of the estate about 200 years ago. When I was young, before I knew about it, my grandfather passed it on to me. I suppose that is the chore and joy of it. My future was, this is what you’re going to do. This building was derelict but agriculture changes and we hold on to things. If you think far enough into the future, what falls out of fashion may come back in – this building is a case in point. The easiest thing would have been to flog it but it’s far more interesting to find a new purpose for it, I really believe that’s the job. I was reading that the first British tea was developed at Tregothnan – that demonstrates that same spirit of innovation. If you’ve got that agricultural mindset at heart, it’s a case of how you can reinvent something, so the tea is a very interesting case. You chose not to grow tea here though? I don’t know if the climate would be right, but also it’s not easy starting something new. That’s why I chose wine – the French have been doing it for hundreds of years. If somebody comes in and asks what we do, we can say, if you know what Bollinger is, we like to think we’re doing it better! If you tell someone you make Cornish tea, the question is then what’s the difference between that and Darjeeling or Assam, you’ve got to educate people and that’s a big journey that can take up a lot of time.

Your business mind seems focused, ambition is tempered by sensible parameters. There is that, but you also end up throwing a lot at the wall to see what sticks. Have you seen Clarkson’s Farm? I genuinely feel that I’m 2 or 3 years ahead of him. He gets behind the wheel of a dumper truck to move some earth to another part of his farm and his agent says, you’ll need a license to move that. Everything he’s done, I’ve been there, so it’s not an entrepreneurial mindset, I’ve learned things the hard way. Looking back, would you have chosen a different path? No, I love agriculture and the fact that it works with future generations in mind – you’re hoping your children will reap the benefits of decisions you’re making today. I think that’s why I like wine so much. There ain’t no quick buck in it, it’s a labour of love.

Your wines are called White from Black, White from White and Pink? Yeah, I don’t have rosé here, I call it Pink because if I’m here to beat the French, which I feel is increasingly becoming a mantra (I’m being facetious, I love the French!) why would I copy them? You can go to English vineyards and they welcome you by saying, bienvenue – please try our cuvée blanc de blanc and I think, you’ve lost me. I enjoy telling people that we’re keeping things English. And your website describes the business as innovative – in what way? We test any new ideas or innovative products here – it’s a good sounding board. I’ve had great ideas that have been flat out crap! The other thing is that I embrace technology.

Farming seems to be heading in that direction – we’re at a stage where we can control so much more than we previously could. Absolutely, and Kent is blessed with technologically minded people. One thing we have previously been troubled with is not having enough labour but suddenly innovation is resolving that. We’re in a great county, there’s a ton of capable people and everyone is pushing the envelope. I assumed that every county would be the same. God, no. That is the great thing my grandfather was so fast to point out. He would say, ‘You’ve got to remember, William, if it wasn’t for the people of Kent, we’d have lost the war, we kept the people of London fed’. Agriculture has always been the bedrock of the county. Communities developed around agriculture and were supported by it. There are still hundreds of people who work on our farms but they’re more seasonal now. Post Brexit, I was worried about getting labour so was early to adopt mechanical harvesting and that has now gone from 65-75 man days to 4. If farming is to remain practical and sustainable, solutions like that have to be found. This new harvesting process is actually creating a bigger, fuller flavour as well, but it would be vetoed in France where every berry has to be picked by hand. We’re not held back by those draconian laws – I want to emulate the French in terms of quality but thankfully we’re not constrained by regulations that they established decades ago.

I wanted to ask you about the Marourde aperitif, it’s made using some of the honey from the farm? It started in a peak of arrogance. I planted my first vineyard and thought, we’re away, let’s learn how to make wine. Then I looked at it and said, shit, where are we going to get the grapes from, I’ve got years before I produce a suitable harvest? I wanted to learn about fermenting and the production process so I built a mini brewery in my garage and thought, let’s look at honey. We made a great product which won Kent Food Product of the Year, but I couldn’t make it commercially fly with my limited experience. I was thankful for the likes of Aperol because the aperitif market hasn’t been part of the lexicon of English drinks, but suddenly people realised that if they added a tonic or prosecco to something it creates a whole new drink category. Aperol put millions into a product that we had had for millennia – a herbal infusion. I presume, being Italian, your wife helped bring your attention to this area of the market? Yeah, but it’s important to stress that the Italians are the newbies to the aperitif market! The English have been making mead for millennia – the river Medway means the river of honey!

To wrap things up, what’s been the best moment of this journey so far? It’s amazing how often the bad points have been the most defining. Three or so years into the program, Covid hit and I thought we were cooked. My market had completely gone but the government said no, you make booze, you’re an essential service. I thought yes, I am, I am essential! But I don’t mean that flippantly, it meant that even when we faced potential disaster, we could push on – if we could survive that, you’d like to think we can survive anything.